October 31, 2008

Whoa nelly, it has been one crazy week! We got all moved in to the new house, cleaned like maniacs and handed in apartment keys yesterday, and are slowly but surely getting unpacked. Or, somewhat surely.

Today I am all hyped up on sugar since we have downtown trick-or-treat for halloween. All the local businesses hand out candy and it is super fun. I realized I don't think I am "officially" signed up for it but I know if I don't have candy tons of dresed-up munchkins will parade through the door, so I picked up candy on the way in to work this morning. And have been eating it all morning. Those kids better get here soon since I seem to grab a piece everytime I go past the bowl and I have started making up excuses to go past the bowl more often....

On a semi on topic, odd side note, I must admit I have a bizarre I halloween-phobia. No, I am not afraid of the holiday itself, but every halloween I put a ton of thought into my clothes because I am not dressed up and I have this irrational fear that someone will make comment on my outfit thinking I am dressed up as something. Weird I know, but it was all I was thinking about getting ready to leave the house this morning.......

Oh, and better late than never: If you are interested in winning a FREE Persnickity Knits clutch, check out knit's contest: www.knit.etsy.comIt's the last day I know, oops. But she has great stuff in her shop anyway and you should go buy things there all the time!

Alright off to eat more candy. I mean move the candy bowl into the front of the shop so I don't keep walking past it. Happy Halloween!

October 27, 2008

Whew! I don't know what I was thinking since this Wednesday marks 8 weeks to Christmas, but the mister, the pugs and I are moving at home this week. We are currently (1 more night!) in about a 550-600 sq ft apartment which we moved into 2 years ago. We loved it when we moved in because it suited our needs at that point but since we have come to sort of loathe it. Plus, we are totally afraid of our upstairs neighbors. We think they might skin and eat children.

Our lease there was up the end of September and since we had to close the co-op right about the same time there was a ton of discussing, deliberating, debating, himming and hawing about what to do next. We finally decided to stay there through the Christmas season and start looking in January since christmas is my busiest time of year and the busyness really begins in September. Which you all know already since I am freaking out on a near daily basis about it....

BUT, I was noodling around on the internet about 3 weeks ago, hopped on Craigslist for whatever reason and found myself in housing for rent. The first listing looked like our IDEAL scenario. It is the entire basement suite of a house, sorta like a mother-in-law suite. It has big windows, it is super bright, it has space for me to have a home office and do some sewing there, a big yard, almost 1500 sq ft, super reasonable rent, a great upstairs neighbor (named? Becca....), and a big french mastiff (think Turner and Hooch) named Pickles. Really, I could go on and on. So we jumped on it. And we are moving into our great new place tomorrow. Eight weeks before christmas.

I must warn you I might be a little slow on response/shipping stuff this week because of the move. But I promise to take some pictures once it starts to look more like home!

October 23, 2008

And the second one I haven't gotten to mentioning yet is Trish at ttw Creative: http://ttwcreative.blogspot.com/2008/10/new-perfect-for-me-knitting-tote.html who called the knitting clutches the best name ever: "knitloc," I love it! And I have already printed that shrug pattern on her page and now I must go buy some yarn to make it.... Oh look! It is 5 o'clock which means I am closing. Maybe I can figure out a way to go past a yarn store on the way home.....

October 20, 2008

I was noodling around on etsy today, stumbled across the crafter's gift guide, and what did I find on page one but my burgundy Gi Gi?! Cool!

Again with the crappy screen shot, but you get the idea....

On a more serious note, one of my customers sent me this dog cookie recall today in hopes of getting it out to as many people as possible:

Tiny Tots Dog Treat Voluntary Product Withdrawl

October 13, 2008

Due to some instances of mold growth in a single batch of Tiny Tots, we have decided to voluntarily withdraw the entire production run from the market. We would like to assure our customers that there have been no reported serious health effects on dogs that have consumed Tiny Tots from this batch.

If you have a bag of Tiny Tots with a Best Before date of April 2009, please return it to your retail store for a full refund. No other batches of Tiny Tots or any of our other jerky treats are affected.

Solid Gold is committed to producing the healthiest food, treats, and supplements for your pet. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please contact us at 800-364-4863 or online at dane@solidgoldhealth.com.

October 17, 2008

I think I feel the need to post pictures of all the work I have been doing to make myself feel more accomplished. Here is Wednesday's run o' bags, in a batch of perfect fall colors:

I just love how the hobo straps stand up on their own, they're so cute and perky.

I also think I have to post pictures because these all immediately went out into my storefront to fill the shelves, which sucks up bags like a black hole and I can never pick out what I made recently once they get thrown in with everything else.

Today is a computer work day though, which is a nice break from all of the sewing happening around here. It is nice and chilly in the shop and I am doing lots of work snuggled up to a cup of tea. Really, I don't think it gets much better than that. I love fall!

October 13, 2008

Uff-da! There has been a lot of sewing here the last week. Here's the proof:

Over half of these have gone home with a happy new bag owner since I finished them on friday, too....hence the major amount of sewing and minor amount of blogging.

Today is one gloomy day here in the Pacific Northwest: rainy, chilly, and gray. Though with a healthy dose of cups of tea and soup for lunch, I have barely noticed. Plus, I needed a little break from sewing today so I have been cleaning and organizing the danger workshop, which always make time fly by and me not notice a whole lot that is going on. There is something about organizing everything that puts me in the best mood! Now I am off to make another cup of tea and snuggle with my puppy while I admire my newly organized space.

October 08, 2008

October 04, 2008

Why eeck? Because this last thursday, October 2nd, marked exactly 12 weeks until Christmas. DO YOU REALIZE HOW FRICKIN' SOON THAT IS?

Why the panic, you ask? Christmas is the craziest, busiest, nuttiest time of year for most small businesses and when you make each and every product yourself by hand, that means panic sets in early. I know I do a good 30-40% of my business for the whole year between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve (Wednesday this last week, for those of you counting), and I assume it is the same for most other businesses of my size/larger. I am feeling totally and completely unprepared. I can barely get the current orders done let alone be thinking about bulking up stock for the near future. The terrifyingly near future.

It is funny too, I was talking on the phone with my dad this morning, discussing this panic time with him, and he was saying I shouldn't worry too much since with the economy being in the super place it is retailers are predicting a slow Christmas season. The sad part is that I am not even prepared for a BAD Christmas season! Plus thinking about all of my own gift giving for the year that I know I need to get started on, this is all too much!

I think it is time I stop typing, go to Starbucks and get a cup of coffee, and start sewing into the wee hours.